amaotonovel Chapter 1144: Pirates of the Ming Dynasty
Chapter 1144: Pirates of the Ming Dynasty
Chapter 1144: Pirates of the Ming Dynasty
John was smart in his escape. He crossed the Danube with a small force and reached the south bank of the river. It can be said that he used reverse thinking beautifully and successfully deceived the cavalry of the Western Expedition who were chasing Engerand VII on the north bank of the river.
However, he overlooked one thing: on such a snowy winter day, they had no supplies.
The Ming army was stationed in Berdraig, and under the operation of Yao Guangxiao, it had begun to control the south bank of the Danube.
John's space for maneuver was still being gradually squeezed. Moreover, the settlements on the south bank of the Danube had basically all fallen into the hands of the Ming Dynasty's Western Expedition Army and the Ottoman Empire, which had successfully restored its country with the help of the Western Expedition Army.
They could not get supplies, and in the end, they had no choice but to come to Beldraig Castle and surrender to the Ming army.
Although he eventually fell into the hands of the Ming army, his unexpected escape technique made Zhu Di think highly of him.
When Zhu Di ordered his men to bring John into the castle, he was busy with his documents. After occupying the castle, the administrative center of the Western Expedition Army, which was originally located in the new Xianyang City, was moved here. The purpose of the Ming army was not only to temporarily conquer, but also to lay a foundation for China in this unfamiliar land. This meant that he, the King of Yan of the Ming Dynasty and the commander of the Western Expedition Army, had to deal with more arduous government affairs in addition to dealing with heavy military affairs.
Fortunately, with Yao Guangxiao, the historical black-robed prime minister, and Zhu Di himself, who was actually quite gifted in making decisions in government affairs, he was able to stabilize the situation while expanding.
Therefore, when his attendants brought John here, Zhu Di did not even look at him. If it were not for the fact that each of these nobles among the Western Barbarians could be exchanged for a large amount of ransom, he would not even be willing to send people to pursue them.
This was even more true of John, the incompetent commander. If he was killed during the capture of the city, it would at least shock the morale of the Crusaders and allow the Western Expedition Army to capture the city more smoothly. But now...
In Zhu Di's eyes, this so-called commander was no different from those other fat and big-eared nobles.
John originally thought that, given his status, Zhu Di would personally interrogate him. At the very least, he would show off his power and humiliate him. However, he did not expect that after Zhu Di had him brought here, he would just leave him here. He could only look at the clerks coming and going, constantly handing documents to Zhu Di, and then constantly taking away the documents that Zhu Di had reviewed.
This castle's main hall, which should have been a place of splendor and magnificence that showed off the nobility, was now as busy as a vegetable market. John had never seen any nobleman work as hard and do things personally as the Prince of Yan in front of him.
But this Prince of Yan of the Ming Dynasty had a higher status and a more distinguished identity than any noble he knew.
After all, no matter which king in Europe, the territory he ruled and the real power he held were far less than that of His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan from the East.
In this completely unfamiliar atmosphere, John could only stand awkwardly in the busy hall, lowering his head, trying to reduce his presence. Even after the guards of the King of Yan who escorted him had left, he did not have the slightest thought of escaping.
It was not until Zhu Di finished dealing with the documents in his hand that he raised his eyes and looked at the uneasy John. "Are you John?"
John had not yet realized what Zhu Di was asking, until Zhang Fu, who was beside Zhu Di, shouted at him. He then subconsciously shuddered all over, and then immediately knelt on one knee and saluted Zhu Di, saying, "Yes, great and wise Lord Yan Wang of the Ming Dynasty, I am willing to pay the ransom and provide you with information in exchange for my safe return to France..."
After listening to the interpreter's retelling, Zhu Di frowned. He didn't like the artificial praise from Westerners, and he didn't have much good feelings towards a young commander like John. He waved his hand at John and said, "No need to say anything else."
"Since you are willing to pay the ransom, I will not kill you. Since you have told me the military intelligence, I am also willing to treat you with courtesy."
"But if you dare to deceive me, if you dare to fool me with false military intelligence."
"Even if I send you back to your homeland, I will cut off your hands and feet first, so that you will know the consequences of deceiving me!"
The interpreter relayed these words to John, who felt a little guilty for a moment. Zhu Di, who was on an expedition, regarded these Westerners as "barbarians", and John and other Western nobles, in fact, deep down in their hearts, also regarded the army coming from the Ming Dynasty as "the devil's army that brought war and killing".
His so-called "military intelligence" was actually just something he tried hard to come up with in order to increase his chances of being redeemed, and it was information that perhaps the Ming army would care about.
But he was not sure whether this information was enough to attract the attention of the Ming army. If it was not enough, wouldn't his own actions be...
Seeing John trembling with fear, Zhu Di frowned and became impatient. John saw this impatience and was afraid that Zhu Di would directly order his hands and feet to be chopped off, so he opened his mouth and spoke out his so-called intelligence.
Because he spoke in a panic, Zhu Di, who did not understand the language, frowned even more, thinking that the man was making up stories. He turned around and asked the guard who was acting as an interpreter, "What did this guy say?"
"Your Highness, he said..." The interpreter sorted out his words. "He said that the letter he received from home a few days ago contained intelligence about our Ming army."
"A letter from home? Intelligence about the Ming army?" Zhu Di frowned, even more unconvinced. This John was from France, Zhu Di knew that. That country was very far away from here, and was one of the westernmost countries in Europe. He had been on a western expedition, and the army was still here, so how could he have intelligence about the Ming army in faraway France...
Suddenly he thought of something and stood up abruptly, even knocking over the neatly stacked documents in front of him.
"What did you say? ... What letter from home? Show it to me!"
Zhu Di took a few steps forward in a state of disbelief.
John was frightened by his sudden attack and stepped back repeatedly. Seeing Zhu Di's expression, the interpreter hurriedly translated. John woke up as if from a dream and took out the family letter from his pocket and handed it to Zhu Di. Zhu Di snatched it and unfolded it. Then he remembered that he could not understand this Western language, so he stuffed the family letter into the interpreter's hand and said, "Take a look, what does this letter say?"
The interpreter hurriedly took it, looked down, and briefly browsed through it, and finally saw the part about the Ming army intelligence that John mentioned.
"…Your Highness, this letter says that a group of pirates, flying the flag of the Ming Dynasty, appeared in the west of Europe…"
(End of this chapter)